Editing Andy Kaufman (section)

===''Fridays'' incidents===
In 1981, Kaufman made three appearances on ''[[Fridays (TV series)|Fridays]]'', a variety show on ABC that was similar to ''Saturday Night Live''. In the last sketch on his first appearance, the cast were to deliberately break the scene and improvise an argument.<ref name="Chartoff">{{cite web|date=July 28, 2007|last=Chartoff|first=Melanie|title=An Andy Kaufman Story&nbsp;– What really happened on that infamous episode of "Fridays"? An insider finally reveals the truth|url=http://www.aish.com/j/f/48954246.html|website=aish.com|access-date=July 30, 2016}}</ref> Kaufman broke character first, announcing that he "felt stupid" and refusing to say his lines.<ref>{{cite news|date=February 24, 1981|last=Schwartz|first=Tony|title=Was 'Fight' on TV Real or Staged? It All Depends|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/02/24/arts/was-fight-on-tv-real-or-staged-it-all-depends.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 30, 2016}}</ref> In response, cast member [[Michael Richards]] walked off camera, returned with a set of cue cards, and dumped them on the table in front of Kaufman, who responded by splashing Richards with water. Coproducer [[Jack Burns]] stormed onto the stage, leading to a fake brawl on camera before the show cut to a commercial.<ref>{{cite video|url=http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/544255131b|title=Andy Kaufman on Fridays from FridaysFan|publisher=Funnyordie.com|date=February 11, 2008|access-date=February 10, 2010}}</ref>

Richards claimed that what was going to happen was known only to him, Burns and Kaufman,<ref>[http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/michael-richards-2 "Michael Richards 'Speaking Freely' transcript"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808113050/http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/michael-richards-2 |date=August 8, 2014 }}; recorded February 28, 2002, in Aspen, Colorado. Firstamendmentcenter.org (February 28, 2002); retrieved October 30, 2016.</ref> but [[Melanie Chartoff]], who played Kaufman's wife in the sketch, said that just before airtime Burns told her, Richards, and [[Maryedith Burrell]] that Kaufman was going to break the [[fourth wall]].<ref name="Chartoff" />

Kaufman appeared the next week in a videotaped "apology" to the home viewers. Later that year, he returned to host ''Fridays''. At one point during the show, he invited ''[[Lawrence Welk Show]]'' singer [[Kathie Sullivan]] to the stage to sing some gospel songs with him and announced that the two were engaged to be married. He then talked to the audience about his newfound faith in Jesus (Kaufman was Jewish), but the scene was a hoax.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-60822022|title=Kaufman Was My Hoax Fiance; The Taxi star pulled some of the funniest stunts on US TV, but his fake engagement fooled the world|last=Burton|first=Alex|date=February 25, 2000|work=[[Daily Record (Scotland)|Daily Record]]|access-date=January 1, 2014|archive-date=December 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212163619/https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-60822022/kaufman-was-my-hoax-fiance-the-taxi-star-pulled-some|url-status=dead}}</ref> Later, following a sketch about a drug-abusing pharmacist, instead of introducing [[The Pretenders|Pretenders]], he delivered a nervous speech about the harmfulness of drugs while the band stood behind him ready to play. After his speech, he informed the audience that he had talked too long and that the show needed to pause for a commercial break.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}